Bought And Paid For: Vukmir Collected $40K While Pushing ALEC Bills

Since 2011, Vukmir has championed at least 24 bills that draw from model policies drafted by corporate special interests

"[I]n return, Vukmir has collected about $40,000 worth of donations to her federal and state campaigns from ALEC or its corporate partners"

MADISON -- A new report reveals that since Republican U.S. Senate candidate Leah Vukmir has championed at least 24 pieces of legislation inspired by model policies drafted in conjunction with corporate special interest lobbyists at the Koch brothers-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Vukmir currently sits on the national board of ALEC, where she's been a member since 2004, and she's spent the past 14 years working closely with corporate interests to develop model legislation that will benefit their profit margins, at the expense of Wisconsin working families, including by championing an ALEC-inspired bill that "allowed nursing homes to conceal records of neglect and abuse."

Here's what you need to know about Vukmir's ALEC record, via HuffPost:

"[Vukmir] been a member since 2004 and a board member since 2013. She also served as the group’s national chairwoman in 2016 and won an award for “legislator of the year” in 2009."

"ALEC, which is funded by a slew of major corporations like Pfizer, FedEx and T-Mobile, is best-known for bringing together major companies and Republican state legislators to write “model policies” for state legislatures to adopt."

"A HuffPost review of Vukmir’s legislative record since 2011 found she had introduced, co-sponsored or authored 24 different pieces of legislation that seem to draw directly from ALEC model policies. The bills allowed nursing homes to conceal records of neglect and abuse, barred labor requirements for public works projects, waded into wars over free speech on college campuses and required legislative approval to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act."

"[I]n return, Vukmir has collected about $40,000 worth of donations to her federal and state campaigns from ALEC or its corporate partners, including a $1,000 check from ALEC’s CEO in 2017."